


Lucy Heartfilia: Key Holder

by unfiltered_knowledge



Series: Player: Lucy Heartfilia [1]
Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: BAMF Lucy Heartfilia, Doesn't really follow the original plotline, F/M, Idk really know what to tag, Lucy Heartfilia/Harem - Freeform, Multi, My Universe, OP Lucy Heartfilia, One of my many series, Overpowered Lucy, Poor Lucy, Story line is like farfetched, Wizard Saint Lucy, non-canon plot
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-08
Updated: 2019-11-15
Packaged: 2020-11-27 18:36:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 20,482
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20953058
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/unfiltered_knowledge/pseuds/unfiltered_knowledge
Summary: Lucy Heartfilia was born years later.She never was part of Team Natsu.But maybe she'll be a piece of Fairy Tail instead?The S Class competitors return to Magnolia, fully expecting their guild to be in shambles without their guidance and protection. Instead, they're met with Fairy Tail's newest guild master and current guardian.





	1. Chapter 1

**Lucy Heartfilia: Key Holder**

Magnolia had been vastly different than what Lucy had remembered when she was but a child, the streets back then had been crammed into one little alley and wherever she had walked with her Manman, there would always be a slight smell that wafted around the air as they darted into the streets. It was a long rounded memory that Lucy would never forget because of her mother’s passion for potions making and her lessons drilled into her at the wee age of five that her mother would always intone with her fiery spirit; the ingredients must be fresh, never forget a step and lest you forget, a potion reflects the passion of a thousand embers in your soul. She would never forget the strange instructions or how they had gone back and forth in the streets of Magnolia.

Magnolia in her hazy little daydream smelled of freshly cut grass and petrichor, the pathways a drab cobblestone color that little Lucy had loved and taken plenty of photos of with her mother’s camera. The people were ever so friendly, asking about Layla’s day and making sure that when little Lucy had wandered off from her mother ,as a result of yet another shiny object that had caught her attention, the hawkers would all be sure to bring her to her mother after a round of crying. The streets were never messy, always pristine and smiles were the first thing to greet people who came in through various modes of transport.

Now the streets and its cobblestone that made it look like a fairy tale where the royals walked through are no longer the drab grey color it had been; it’s a pale beige like countenance and people were no longer smiling as they go about their day, no askance of how their day had been neither are the smells of freshly cut grass or petrichor anymore. Now it smells of smoke, ash, cinder and rotten fruits and garbage that littered Magnolia. Children weren’t even daring to play in the square for fear of angering the businesses that had set up around the main square in Magnolia. Everything felt out of place but…

Lucy Heartfilia didn’t feel out of place at least.

“It’s a good thing I’m more or less independent now. Lord knows what would have happened had I had not been,” she carries a large book bag that looks as if it had been filled with bricks and contemplates whether to call upon one of her Spirits to help her place it in her room in Strawberry Street but goes against it. The bag, although weighing more than her own, would have to be used as she had one more stop to go for before she heads towards the guild to do some light reading and preparing her schedule for tomorrow.

The hawkers she passes by waves at her as she walks pass and she gives them a genuinely happy smile at each of them. It did however take some of her time as some of the hawkers had things to offer to her, she would have politely declined however she knew from her past endeavors that it would be futile to refuse. The vendors would find some way to make her receive their offerings so she saved the hassle of refusing them now to accept and thank each of them. She took longer to talk to one of the matrons that had taken care of her ever since she arrived in Magnolia; she ended up getting a basket full of pastries that the matron had baked this morning and a gift in a small bag that she is quite curious but not enough to open for now.

Turning about six blocks from the main square, she’s faced with her destination of choice ‘Roland’s Hallucinations’. It was a quaint little shop with a modern gleaming decorated front that would fool most to think that it was a diner or café but was in fact an apothecary. She had never been able to not be amused when she had stumbled upon the little nook in the cranny shop and the name that it had been graced with. Although the decorative of the shop was modern, it never stopped the owner from giving more natural accents by placing wooden chairs and plush sofas, bean bags as well as the occasional table or two with a roaring fireplace and beautiful flowers in oriental china sets and singular pieces inside the shop. Indeed it looked like a café if not paid enough attention to its details.

For example, the chandelier that hangs above made of dead pine branches and littered with innocent looking flowers was in fact the breeding ground for aconite flowers. To the left of the entrance where there’s a nice looking transparent glass vase is filled with ‘eyeballs of newt (fresh)’ and ‘hag’s visionary (fermented)’. It was never one of the ingredients Lucy would use in her potions or her study of alchemy, she hadn’t been much advanced in her studies yet much to her ire.

“Miss Lucy, pleasure to see you once more,” the man behind the counter had a genial smile and he was quite young. Only in his late 20s and he had long black hair tied at the nape with a red ribbon, lips pulled into a sincere smile and eyes the color of put off coals, he was tall and stood at a height of 5’9” with a Chinese traditional outfit in grey and black. He bowed towards Lucy as she approached the counter, hands waiting on the yellow memo pad he has on his left hand and a large quill on the other; patience in his gaze.

“Hello Baifeng, I hope I had not caught you unaware. I confess that it’s much earlier than my original time of visit,” Lucy greeted him with a smile and is pleased that Baifeng seemed to only be amused and no more than that.

“Nonsense, any business is good,” he waves it off.

“I have come to place orders and see if these particularly are in your means of supplies,” she nods at him and immediately, several vases, jars and containers begin to move around in rapid succession and she looks at them with no sign of them bothering her, she had been here long enough for it to be a natural occurrence.

“I see, while the ingredients are sorting themselves out, mind saying what you would like? I’ll see to it if any of your requirements cannot be met, some ingredients can’t be kept in the shop because of how volatile and deadly as well as fragile their conditions may be,” Baifeng said calmly as Lucy began listing out the ingredients she needed.

“Some newt skin, a hag’s thousand fermented skin and entrails, bay leaves drenched in undead solution and…” it went as long as fifty potions ingredients and Baifeng never faltered in his concentration, hands moving and roving over the things Lucy had listed.

At some point, Lucy had gone over a particular ingredient and he paused; contemplating over the ingredient itself and Lucy noticed. However he said nothing, instead opening the rusty backdoor leading to the cold storage and sounds of rummaging began resonating in the space of the counter of the apothecary and the backdoor; a strange echo of metal and screeching that Lucy found normal. Her first visit to Roland’s Hallucinations had been to the screeching of a demonic Halavampire going off its rockers and possessing one of the demonstration dummies in the open observatory before planting a gigantic bite out of the precious aged Ebollica tree. A tree that could only be grown by a mage widow’s desperate tears and raised by corpse fertilized soil. So it wasn’t that strange.

“Lucy I’m afraid the Caterpillar’s Nested isn’t going to be harvestable until October,” Baifeng called out calmly but she could detect the bit of absolute guilt and remorse that she wouldn’t be able to purchase the item in question as she had planned. Baifeng was weird that way but Lucy was more than ecstatic that there was such a fascinating person as him. Not many were like that towards their customers and Baifeng was special.

“It’s okay Baifeng, the potion I’m working towards isn’t needed desperately. Need not worry about it, my friend,” she smiled at him and she could see the tension bleed away from his shoulders; being the owner of such a demanding supply shop could never be easy. It never was no matter how people envision it to be and it was a difficult job despite its goal to supply potion ingredients.

“Thank you Lucy, was there anything else you needed?” Baifeng gave gentle smile once more and Lucy shook her head ‘no’ as that had all been that she had planned to purchase.

“That is all, Baifeng. I bid you a good day,” she tips her head at him and waved as she takes off to the streets of Magnolia once more, the bell of the shop cackling as it is slammed against the glass doors; black skulls with empty eye sockets jingling mockingly.

“A child of such reverence… I bid you a good day indeed, Miss Lucy” Baifeng murmurs as he cleans up the counter, smiling as he thought of the small independent child of eleven winters.

* * *

The most renowned and also incredibly damage worthy inducing guild of Magnolia was in full swing as Lucy approached it. There were the sounds of brawls, glasses shattering, crashes, large screaming and yelling as she resignedly approaches it. Her blonde hair was tucked in her brown cloak, her footsteps silent and stealthy as the guild doors swung of its own accord. Breathing a sigh of content, she felt that she would never really regret her decision to join Fairy Tail-

“Want a go! I’ll give you a go!” a teenager decked in only dark navy shorts hurls a frost covered fist towards another teenager, one with a scale like scarf, black harem pants and a red vest; hair the color of rose pink.

“I’ll yank your nude ass up the City Hall!” the one with rose pink hair screeches and started spouting flames from his lips.

Before long, tables of various lengths and makes were flung and promptly destroyed by the enthusiastic teens. The rest of their guild mates start egging each of the boys on while the females wore weary and exasperated looks of contempt and full on just **done **with the situation at hand. They’ve lost count of the bar brawls and destruction of property that it was no longer a situation that was unheard of.

“Gray! Your clothes!” The barmaid, Mirajane hisses as she polishes off yet another glass cup and begins to absently stack them in order and far away from the two brawling teenagers as it escalated into a full blown fight. The rest of the by standing guild mates who hadn’t been part of the brawl began to join as well, adding to the destruction.

“I’m a man!”

“No matter how many times you said that, it won’t make sense!”

“Mira I need fish!”

“Happy! I just gave you a bowl of it!”

On second thoughts, she might regret it more than now. Probably a close percentage to a hundred regrets…

Sighing, she wades her way through the onslaught of uncontrollable guild members and flying debris, mana of all types flying and colliding whilst creating a catastrophe. It had been a year and a half since Lucy had joined Fairy Tail, running away from the Heartfilia Konzern with the help of her servants and her nursing maid, Janich, long before her father’s teachings would begin to grate on her moral reserves and further her disdain towards him. Originally, she had planned to lay low and study for her exams; both civilian and mage oriented as it made perfect sense to do so and it would greatly benefit her if she ever needed qualifications for succeeding in her life without the Heartfilia name attached to her person like a leech.

Instead she had been offered a place in Fairy Tail by the guild master himself. It had more to do that Layla Heartfilia had been part of the guild once upon a time before she became a noble lady and a mother to boot that she laid her passion towards Spirit battle to rest and teach her only daughter all that she could. Layla had not been under illusions that Jude would be able to care for their daughter as a parent would and respect the choices that Lucy pick no matter what their stance on her views are. As a mother, she knew best that her daughter be fully educated and appreciating her studies. As a woman and a feminist, she could see the tall tale signs of sexism and racism as well as fascism the longer she spent her time in Jude’s presence and in all fairness she was insulted; her marriage to him had not proven or swayed his narrow views on women and the hierarchy of society at all.

So she had taught Lucy; ways to hide a weapon or how to wield ordinary items into weapons itself, cramming five years’ worth of knowledge on everything that Layla knew would be beneficial to her daughter, combat and a few mage magic basics. Lucy had taken to her mother’s rigorous training like a duck to water and before long, she developed the incessant hunger for more than her mother could teach her and while it fascinated Layla, there was also a sense of foreboding as the days went by in the Heartfilia manor. Lucy had been too young to know what exactly it was that scared Layla but she did know that the economic status of Fiore was becoming dim; the world was full of stories of dragon children abandoned by their Draconian mentors, murders and eradications of multiple small towns and settlements. It had been a mess but that shouldn’t have phased Layla. There was nothing in correlation to those events to the Heartfilia matriarch.

But they ignored the best they could, Layla stopped having lessons for Lucy done by the age of 6 and instead spent their time as much as a mother and daughter would. Those were the best days. Layla would wake Lucy up before the sun rose and comb through her hair, reciting things that had already been taught to Lucy and she would hum in content over the domesticity.

_“The consonant for F in a formula conducted in a conduit in relation to lightning in a hemoglobin induced buzz by a being whose main conduit is lightning would be F cosine pairing with a Newton mass. But if the Newton mass is more or less related to a particle of Hydrogen with a proton mass of 2 times the actual Hydrogen mass, the consonant would be invalid because?” Layla murmurs, a small fresh stalk of a lily flower in the clutches of her teeth as she works through Lucy’s platinum blonde, almost white, hair and her other hand preoccupied with a large wet brush. _

_Lucy stops humming, consideration in her eyes as she thinks over the question. _

_“It’s invalid because the main genetic conduit for the being, assuming it’s human because lightning only works well with high conscious beings, is lightning but if the Hydrogen tries to masse the reaction by treating the Newton in weight by adding about two times its original weight then it would be invalid. Timing a Hydrogen more than its original weight would mean the Newton mass is irrelevant and won’t produce a change. The invalid rejects the irrelevancy of a Newton mass and would combust instead,” Lucy smiled. _

Those were the days. Nothing but pure familial love.

Everything fell apart when her mother got sick and as time went on, she spent her days locked in her room; terrified of facing her daughter and infecting her with the incurable disease that she was wracked with. She remembered the days where she would cry silently and protest as her caretaker would drag her away from the corridor her mother’s room was in.

On the day of her funeral, Lucy didn’t even get to see her mother’s figure. Shrouded in a black veil over her face, she had been clothed in a black bridal dress. Her blonde hair standing out amongst all the dark colour and her skin looked sickly white. Her nails even painted in the dark abyss she now belonged in.  


Lucy wept more than she supposed she had ever in her life.

Shaking herself from her thoughts, she walked swiftly and silently as the brawls continued into a full swing. She had never been close to her guild mates as they were to each other; they didn’t exist to her and neither did she to them. It had been a request she had made to Makarov; she didn’t want friendships and emotions to be part of her life for now. She was still young and as ironic as that sounded, she was more interested in placing her effort in her research; the conduit of magic into a civilian.

She trudged up the stairs, her brown coat swishing silently and she swings the door equal in the silence her movements made. The door rattled a bit but that was it and she could feel the small tingle of magic blink like a bell would to alert the Master of her presence. Guild Masters were sneaky that way. The bell was a small sticker on the side of the door, if touched by the opposite of the wall it was attached to, no matter small, the sticker acted as a trigger to the bell and would ring gently in the room of the Master of the Guild.

Makarov looks up from his piling paperwork, a smile immediately on his lips as he takes a look at the small child and he greets her jovially; truly happy to see her. She was a remarkable child and while he did not approve of the request she made on her invisibility to her guild members. He would respect her decisions, had it not been for her, he would not be able to live to see another day and his children would have been devastated.

“Hello Lucy, what brings you today?” he hops off his reclining chair; he would have bought one befitting his size but it would have been a pointless endeavor as it would break; he too was prone to breaking things due to his type of magic. The chair he was currently using was the oldest and most favoured chair of the First Master, Mavis and could withstand more than an average chair would. It should since the chair was over a thousand years old.

“Hello grandfather, I’m wondering if there is anything regarding the latest uses of Antacids from the Medical Council?” Lucy said in a questioning tone.

“Ah yes. There’s an article they had just recently sent me on that particular topic,” Makarov rummages through his desk as he walks back to his seat before producing a small pin sized sticker that flashed yellow before reconstructing itself to come out as a bigger file, no longer a sticker.

Interest flashed in Lucy’s eyes and Makarov chuckled at her enthusiastic glean for knowledge.

“The article was written by Warren Warbecker. He brought different studies of antacids on mages and how it affected their stomach lining, he even collaborated with Lisa Turner, a famous neurosurgeon who worked with medical examiners for a time and Jonathan Ryuuhei, a serial killer renowned for his precise work with poisons and his intimate knowledge of his victims’ innards,” at the last sentence Makarov grimaced but watched fascinated as Lucy lit up and nearly fly off in excitement at the content of the article.

“This is the first collaboration of a researcher and a killer on a topic! Imagine the accuracy of their results if the killer can bring reasons on why antacids don’t work that well on the bodies of a mage but work perfectly fine on civilians for at least 24 hours of digestion!” Lucy was practically vibrating as sparkles danced around her.

“You can- “

“MASTER! Natsu and Gray are being taken in by the Rune Knights again!” A frantic and worried looking Lisanna Strauss barges in and without preamble.

Lucy, before Lisanna had barged in, had already heard the bell and had dived into one of the many couches and sofas strewn about in the room. She heaved a sigh of relief as the older mage did not manage to get a glimpse of her blonde hair in her hurry to not be seen by her guild mates.

Makarov groaned once more as he got up, his bones creaking in protest and he is once reminded of the fact that he was way too **_damn _**old for the antics of his children. Natsu and Gray were turning 18 next year respectively and yet they acted like 5 year olds that never got the attention of their favorite teacher with all the damages they make to the guild and their reputation. It didn’t help that the rest of them were equally rowdy and egged both of them to do their daily brawls; he glared a little at Lisanna. He honestly thought that with her back from Edolas; she would at least control Natsu a bit but all she did was coddle him. Honestly.

“And why have you not stopped Natsu, Lisanna?” he asked, annoyed.

She seemed to deflate and a bit flustered at the insinuation that she never tried anything to stop the pyro user. It wasn’t far from the truth; she did try but she could never make Natsu stop because she rather saw him fighting Gray getting sweaty than make him stop. That’s how utterly in love she was with him.

“I did but-,” she stutters and that was enough for Makarov to just sigh and walk away from her, turning the door open and she scrambles after him; not wanting to be left alone in the room.

As the door clicks shut, Lucy quietly comes out from her hiding place with the folder in her hand and for the first time in her adolescent life; wondered if life was all about finding answers that had no ends and gaining more knowledge and that was it? It seemed that way for a while as she had known since she had been young. But looking back at the cheeriness of her guild and the way that everyone seemed to content with living life as it is; doing the necessary, having fun, making bonds and that’s it. No scrambling for the next available information that might break the case. No burying yourself in books to make connections to answers that elude her for very long.

She looks down and there it was; her mother’s pendant.

It was a simple accessory. A gold circle plate with a green emerald in the center and the necklace itself was thin, about an inch in diameter and made out of a rose gold like substance. She never got to find out what it meant to her mother; she had woken up on the day they had announced her death to her. It had been dawn and she had dreamed of fireflies and dragons in an open field, woken up and felt the heaviness of the emerald. She had wondered and stared at the little gem in wonder for hours before a maid had hesitantly knocked and opened her door. Her eyes ashen and puffy from crying, she had announced that her mother had passed. Her world had instantly shattered.

“She had never been for grandeur,” she says as she fiddles with the necklace.

The side of the gold circle plate had the words **_Layla Reynolds_**; her mother’s maiden name before she had been christened the name Heartfilia once she had married Jude Heartfilia. What a woe it had been with a man more in love with money than he had been with his wife. Her mother had never been open about her parentage, vaguely mentioning about her brother, Abraxas, who had married the love of his life who was a nobleman and his childhood best friend and of her grandparents Thomas and Cecilia Reynolds who had loved each other very much and didn’t stop showing their love to each other, they would bring small tokens of gifts to each other without fail each day. She could detect the slight envy in her mother’s voice as she talked about the love her parents shared and would pretend to be asleep as sobs wracked her form just talking about it.

A tragedy she couldn’t be loved the way she wished she had been.

Gripping the necklace tightly, she resolved her ambition once more and got up before ambling towards the door and gripping it.

She never looked back.

* * *

“Charges of civilian endangerment and assault along with unprecedented usage of pyro kinetic on both government and private property…” Makarov looked weary as he listed out the charges of one of his own children. He couldn’t fathom how many times it had been in the last decade that he had to physically hold himself in check. Managing a guild at his age is not easy, after his own son went rogue, his hopes of retirement had all but vanished into thin air and now he’s constantly faced with the consequences of coddling his children too much.

“Jiji, we’re really sorry- we didn’t mean to take it to the palace guards again…” Lisanna looked like she swallowed an onion and was threatening to cry or bawl into tears. Frustration leaked out of Makarov as he realized once again that the one apologizing was yet again Lisanna. He was sick of how annoyingly devoted her love towards Natsu and the fact that these three are all in the legal adult age for Mages worldwide, which is 18, (except for Gray whose 19)and yet fail to compromise.

“No” he states firmly.

Natsu and Gray looked surprised at the sternness in his voice. It was no shock. They were used to getting smacks and then getting a scolding from him, but they were soon starting to realize that maybe this would be the smack down from Makarov that they would receive.

“Jiji…” Gray muttered sadly. He wasn’t oblivious or silly or even stubborn towards not recognizing his faults and the damage both him and Natsu caused whenever they butt heads. He did try to minimalize the amount of damage he did to his surroundings and made an attempt to be more ignorant to Natsu but clearly it was easier said than done.

“The guild is going on a training expedition… The S Class Tournament begins next week! I don’t want to see any dilly dallying and the likes of what you’ve done today to affect anything that plays out!” Makarov stated firmly, well annoyed.

Natsu brightened up at the news; he had long wanted to be nominated for a chance to achieve the status of an S Class Mage or even better, a Classified S Class Mage. Erza had gotten the title of S Class Mage when she reached her maturity age of 15 and she wasn’t the youngest even! If he has the chance to wield the title and claim, it would be amazing. It didn’t hurt that if he was able to, he would beat the race as Erza hasn’t even be able to bag the title of the youngest Classified S Class mage quite yet and Gildarts had only managed to get the title only after he turned 29 years old. By far the oldest Classified S Class mage had been well over 30 years old, the exam was no joke for the likes of the magic users of Fiore.   


"YEAAHHHHHHH I'M FIRED UPPPPPPPP!"   


Makarov sighs and smacks the rosy teenager down with a single slap, determined to get the whole process over and done with. As well as making sure that Natsu actually **_heard _**__and _**heeded **_what he was about to say because god damnit, he's way too old for this and he needs an extended vacation- why couldn't Macao just take the damn position already? He already has Romeo running around, he might as well get a more in depth experience of proper parenting. He smirks at that.   


"First of all, shut your skinny butt. And listen to me without interruptions-I will kick your scrawny ass if you don't!" Makarov looms over all three of the mages in the room. He was rarely serious and when he was, he meant his utmost deadliest. 

"On the training expedition, I'm putting strict limitations for all three of you. Particularly Natsu and Gray-"  


Natsu shivered at the pissed off expression on Makarov while Gray felt the hair on his body stand on end.   


"You're not allowed to destroy any public property, you are not allowed to fight each other; in fact if you're within 5 meters of each other, you are not going to be surviving until the actual nominations! If you cause any more discrepancies during our supposed to be fruitful training, I will choke you and bury you in the least noticeable place in all of Fiore!"   


Satisfied at the terrorised and possible traumatised looks on the two boys, he turns and stares at Lisanna. Lisanna stilled but started to fidget, finding it highly uncomfortable and somewhat dismayed that Master found her to cause so much trouble that even she had gotten lumped in the same category as Natsu and Gray.   


It had well been over six months since she returned to Earthland after the whole fiasco at Edolas and truthfully, she felt relieved that she somewhat ended in an alternate reality and hadn't really died. It had been disorienting when she was at Edolas, everything was really different. The Natsu in Edolas was vastly different than the Natsu she knew and love. What had crushed her the most was the appearance of Lucy Ashley and the almost gravitating force that bound her to Natsu. It broke her heart and when she found that she was actually in a different world, with different people... she had shed tears and hoped- no, prayed- with all her heart that Earthland Lucy didn't exist in this world.... And she wasn't wrong.   


"You are banned from being partners with Natsu." The flat tone of Master Makarov snapped her out of her daydreaming, rendering her speechless.   


"But-!"   


"No, I stand firm on this. You are clearly coddling and disregarding the need for him to amend and change his behavior!... Now leave, I have preparations to do," with that, Makarov enlarges his hand and promptly threw them out of the office, getting a few curse words in the process.   


"I hope all's fare well, Lucy..."   



	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucy is second guessing her continued hidden existence to her guild members. Gajeel thinks that Lily spends too much time shopping.

Wafts of heavy fumes danced around in the dark timbers of the room, illuminating the space with an eerie yellow glow. The glass windows were huge, door sized and brought in the cottage luminescence as it filtered into the almost garden like interior of the cottage. The walls were bare with no paint whatsoever, the wooden structure gleaming with varnish and scents of cedar wood. Hanging pots were everywhere, strung up delicately with different herbs planted in each one of them. Most of the space is occupied by a boiling golden cauldron, its perch gleaming as sunlight streamed through. Around the cauldron was a cart filled to the brim with all sorts of oddities; a picked eyeball in a jar, porcupine quills entrenched in human skin, a jar of fermented belladonna and the likes.

Her long golden locks were pulled up into a bun and secured with a stick, her right hand holding a small yellow notepad as she shuffled around the area, mumbling and then throwing things into the cauldron as she went through the list. Her feet were held down with two sandbags, each weighing twenty kilograms and while she struggled, it wasn’t of much consequence as her training weights had only been increased by five kilograms of its original weight.

“Masuda-san needs some screaming fertilizers and a few vials of sleeping drought,” she mutters as she skillfully darts around the room while her eyes are still trained on the yellow notepad, reading off all the mundane but still begrudgingly her other source of income. No matter how trivial the requests were, from silky hair conditioners to pest sprays, it had become a routine to just do it all and complain later. But that didn’t mean that she couldn’t somewhat complain about the boredom she experiences in her field work as one of the few potion brewing shops that actually do such random requests.

Professional and somewhat stingy potions shops such as Caius’ Cauldron and Pixie’s Parliament rarely took such menial tasks, priding in their crafty potion-making skills. While Lucy did understand for such a requirement, she didn’t really understand whats the harm in at least helping out a bit for the people in the town; it wouldn’t kill them that’s for sure.

Her eyes roved down the list once more, picking apart the ingredients needed and as she went to the last requested potion, she could feel a vein pulsing in barely repressed annoyance as she realized that once again; she has run out of the ingredients needed for the potion and she had been utterly careless in that regards.

“I cannot believe this! Honestly!” Lucy huffed as she edged away from the bubbling golden cauldron. She was being absolutely cautious with all the brewing she’s been doing today, her little hands encased in dragon-hide gloves along with the protective gear she’s wearing.

“The jiji needs another dose of the stamina potion… I need to give Chie-obaasama her medicine first though.. She’s just a few miles away,” Lucy mumbled to herself as she stopped, looking at the cauldron and then walking forward. She stared at the concoction as it bubbled mockingly at her. She had earlier planned to first brew Masuda-san’s screaming fertilizers and the sleeping drought but Chie-obaasama needed her medicine first, that was more important.

“Ugh it still needs a few hours to set,” she grumbled as she threw her hands up and walked towards her giant fluffy bean bag before flopping onto it and sighing.

Ever since that time she nearly had gotten caught by Lisanna, she had barely gone to the guild and was more often than not in her potions lab, at least five train stops away from where Magnolia was located. Missions were sent in by Master at random intervals of the week and on the days she had more than ample enough time to laze around, she would accept requests from the town residents for whatever potion they wanted. The people of Hazure town were more or less like the patrons and people who care for her back in Magnolia; it didn’t really have much of a difference.

_‘It’s becoming relatively hard to avoid Natsu-san as well as the rest of the guild members… I’m glad that I learned how to form a scent dome when I go to the guild… My cover would’ve been blown otherwise… They all have such sharp noses… Particularly Gajeel-san,’_ she mused as she groped her bean bag, finding satisfaction in the soft material as she nuzzled her nose into the tangy raspberry scent of the fabric.

Her solid foundation of remaining unseen and unknown in the guild was particularly eventful, somewhat. A year and six months of using her utmost best to ensure such endeavor was achieved did bring a toll on her but it served as good stealth practice as well; in such a short period of time, she had at least been able to somewhat glean enough information about the guild’s main attack forces. The ones that interested her the most were probably the Dragon Slayers and the ice make mage; particularly Gajeel.

She couldn’t put a finger to it but Gajeel reminded her of someone that she had met from a distant past – ironic considering she’s only twelve years old – and he was a curious individual. He had come to Fairy Tail two years before she had and is turning twenty two this year from what she heard through the grapevine. Before he came to Fairy Tail, he had been a mercenary working under Phantom Lord and had received a hit mission for Levy, the resident script mage of Fairy Tail. It didn’t take long for Gajeel to call it quits when he finally understood the reason for the hit to be called on Levy. The client had been under Levy’s guidance for a mission she did with Shadow Gear and his daughter had not heeded the client’s warnings to avoid getting involved, resulting in the daughter being permanently paralyzed from the waist down. Gajeel, although bloodthirsty, is a man of reason; he only took hit missions with high target offense rate. Soon he joined Fairy Tail.

The man was perceptive, Lucy had to hand him that. The amount of close calls she had when she went to visit the Master was a tad too many. His nose would twitch the moment she had entered the guild, her disillusionment dome on as she navigated the guild to the first floor and she would stop, breath stuttering as she waited for him to stop moving and turning his head. While she had the utmost faith in her dome, she was not delusional in the idea that it could fool a dragon slayer long enough for her to get away. But even if she managed to do so, even at her departure from the guild his eyes would flare up and he’d stand, eyes roving over her invisible form. It made her trips to the guild so much harder than she had originally anticipated.

A sharp pungent scent alerted her none too gently and she barely repressed her urge to puke.

“It looks like it’s time for a trip to Chie-obaasama,” she grumbled as she sat up, pouting all the while as she starts getting ready. Thoughts of her guild members fled her mind.

* * *

She trudged through the town square, her arms laden with a brown recyclable paper bag filled to the brim with potions and various dubious looking concoctions. Hazure, while the people had the same kind attitude as the people in Magnolia, was easily distinguishable when compared to other towns. Hazure had been in prior years graced with the title of Fiore’s Mother Magic, which was partly true in various ways; the town had been established a few centuries after Magnolia had and became a homing beacon for mages alike to come through. Compared to Magnolia, Hazure was practically brimming with magic and even the air gave off the faint electric scent that magic gave off.

Humming to herself, she estimated her time of arrival to Chie-obaasama’s home. The grumpy elderly woman lived at the far end of the town and while it was a pain to go through, especially since she has to go through several alleys and the major shopping areas filled with mages. Sighing, she resigned to her thirty minute walk to her final destination.

“Hey did you hear?”

“Oh?”

“There’s a golden celestial key that’s been rumored to be in Mount Hakobe!”

“Uwahh, are you serious?”

“Of course I am!”

“But how did it end up there though?”

“I heard that it’s last master gave his life up”

“Oya, that’s quite pitiful”

Lucy strained her ears as she walked, pretending to be going out her day and upon hearing of the celestial key, she perked up silently. When her mother had passed, she had been secretly given her Celestial Keys without prior knowledge from her father. The man had thought that Celestial Keys immediately scattered upon the death of their master. It wasn’t a lie but there were clauses that enabled the children or descendants of the master to inherit the keys. So far she has Aquarius, Taurus, Virgo, Lyra and Horologium. Her mother originally had four gold keys but she had lost when she battled with a fellow Summoner called Karen; it wasn’t a total loss as she had never been able to form a contract with the spirit due to it’s strong nature.

_‘Seems I have a train to catch…’_ she mused silently.

* * *

** _‘The train for Magnolia is departing. Passengers please watch your step’_ **

He gruffly stares at the train departing; slightly peeved at the fact that he had to wait for Lily from whatever it was he had been doing. He loved his partner but there were limits to his patience, only him would Gajeel allow the pleasure of him waiting. He wasn’t a very patient man to begin with and with his childhood father being a gruff dragon who ate metal and snarked his way in life for a living, it didn’t really make matters better.

He gave a loud annoyed tsked and was about to climb onto the train when he suddenly froze, the feeling of something colliding into him assaulting his metal ass. He groaned as the stranger, lightweight and small, probably a kid, yelped and immediately stood up. Rubbing his head, he stared at the little blonde girl staring at him, probably intimidated, he got that a lot and then she bowed a bit, her blonde hair flailing in the process.

“Oh sorry, mister! I didn’t watch where I was going!” she smiled and brought him up to stand, his eyebrow raising at the amount of strength the kid possessed even if she was only giving him a helping hand to stand. Being the Iron Dragon Slayer didn’t only mean his control over the element, his body weight was twice heavier than how he looked and yet this tiny chibi-suke somehow managed to let him up without any visible strain showing on her face.

“Just watch your step, chibisuke, you’re lucky I’m not in the mood for a fight,” he stated roughly as he patted the blonde child; it wasn’t a lie per se, Lily’s lateness had caused him to be more anxious than he’s supposed to be. He usually felt boredom and amusement as well as blood lust but today he just didn’t feel like it.

The blonde child seemed to perk up at his grouchy demeanor and instead smiled, not the least bothered by the man’s almost threatening words – it made Gajeel curious about such a reaction, children often were quick to be terrified of him and piss themselves in fear because of his piercings and red eyes – but concluded that the child was probably a mage or at least the daughter of one, his insides felt queasy with the idea that the child was of civilian nature, civilians naturally had to fight their own discomfort against people who had magic. While he couldn’t fathom the idea of never having or feeling his magic, he did concede sympathy for those without.

“Thank you and I will!” the blonde child bowed once more before bounding off, bouncing as she went into the train bound forwards. He mused that she looked like an excited bunny, despite his gut feeling telling him that she was mature for a child, what with her easy acceptance of his threatening but non threatening warning and the fact that she had been holding onto a grocery bag and most children would apologize and run off but she had stayed to help him up.

“Gajeel!”

He turned and for the second time that day, felt something collide onto him once more but this time, it was straight onto his face. For Christ sake, today seemed to be his lucky day; he’s a homing beacon for collisions apparently. Groaning for the second time that day, he pried Lily’s furry hide away from his face with an annoyed look. 

“What took you so long?”

“Sorry, I just had to buy these!”

Blinking, Gajeel looked down to see the decent sized paper-bag filled with pastries and a small container that looked to contain pure iron ore. He felt his eye twitch before sighing in defeat, turning around abruptly and without preamble towards the train carriage, Lily flapping his wings behind the slayer frantically to catch up with the man’s large strides.

Gajeel grips onto the ledge of the train door, hauling him inside with ease.

Trains in Fiore were different from trains in any other country; they were traditional in the outside but resembled how a bullet train would’ve looked like in their interior. Moreover since magic was at its process, the inside resembled more of a camper more than anything. But still, it didn’t stop the train from getting overcrowded and not being able to find a compartment for the average traveler. Such as today.

“Ugh what the hell?” Gajeel growled as he wrenched open another door, only to find a couple spring apart in their haste and squeak in an embarrassed fashion by the sudden intrusion. Feeling more aggravated, he instead decided to just slam the door back and lean against the adjacent wall, giving up altogether.

“Ano-!”

Gajeel swiveled his head around to look at the source and his eyes seemed to light up a bit as he spotted the familiar blonde tuft of hair. The little girl smiled prettily as she stared up at him and his Exceed in wonder, her smile all teeth in an adorable manner before she swiftly unlatched herself from the wall she had been using to hide from them.

“If you want, you can sit in here with me? I currently have no companions,” she said with a very light but mature voice, gesturing to the compartment with her hand. Lily looked slightly worried, probably for him, Gajeel mused as he wasn’t exactly keen with sharing his space with people, much less a stranger. But this was different, she wasn’t a stranger – she knew him and him her – somewhat.

“No its okay we’ll just – “ Lily declined politely, only to be interrupted.

“Thanks,” Gajeel smiled a bit and went in ahead, his Exceed gaping at him.

How unusual.

* * *

“Master! You must send someone to go look for my dad!” Romeo wailed as he clung onto Makarov, bawling big fat tears only children of his age could produce. An adult’s eyes would sooner puff up and swell painfully with the knowledge that their prolonged crying would bring consequences.

Makarov sighs as he looks down at the child from his perch on the bar, slight wariness and pity swirling in his eyes looking at how haggard the child looked. When he finds Macao, the first thing he’s going to do is slam him down onto the floor and then confine him to the guild for at least three months, its what he deserves for deserting his child without a single lick of telling him his whereabouts. Nonetheless, he would do his best to assure the child. He looked like he could drop at any given moment now.

“Alright but I can’t send anyone out yet, they’re all out on a mission and there’s no one that’s capable in the guild but Mira and she can’t go either so – “ Makarov placated as he patted the child’s head. Romeo nodded as he rubbed his tears away, squashing the urge to cry out in frustration and persistence – he knows there’s no point in rushing – he reasons that his father has told him that time yields fruition, whatever that meant anyway. It still sounded cool.

“OIIIIII JIJI!” the guild doors croaked in protest as it was abused once more, another charcoal-ed footprint added among older footprints on its chipped painted wood.

“NATSU!” Lisanna comes barging in, her trademark blue shirt and short pants looking like they could fall off any time with how damaged it was.

“Ugh, would you look at that,” Makarov groans as Natsu goes up to the bar and props himself up, requesting double the portion of flaming chicken wings from Mira in the process before gorging on it himself. Lisanna sits next to him, cheeks red and stuttering her order of onion rings with Japanese mayo dip and a cup of cherry cola to her sister. Happy flies in later, wings flapping merrily and settling onto Natsu’s head, sleepily exclaiming an ‘Aye!’ before falling asleep; purring.

“Oy brats,” Makarov turns to them along with Romeo, the child perking as he stares at the Master hopefully.

“Nghhblubblubngahbruhmuh – ?” Natsu stares with his eyes a bit wide in curiosity, cheeks still stuffed with the chicken and bits of it on his cheek. Lisanna stares at him in disgusted fascination, wondering if their future children would be exactly like their father.

“Swallow first idiot!” Makarov clicks his tongue, watching Natsu choke a bit as he swallows the last of his meal.

“Uh, whatcha want Gramps?” Natsu grabs his cup of jalapeno-soaked sparkling citrus soda and gulping it down in one go. Makarov looks down from his perch on the guild bar table and nods at Romeo, the child nearly bursting into tears.

“I want you to find Macao,” Makarov states grimly, eyes piercing and expression stiff.

Immediately, Natsu and Lisanna stiffens.

“Macao-san? Didn’t he go on that Vulcan hunting request?” Lisanna questions, her eyebrows furrowed at the thought of anything happening to the 4th Master. Romeo, not being able to take it anymore, starts bawling and crying while Lisanna panics and picks him up, patting him on the back to soothe him.

“Gramps, what happened to Macao-jii?” Natsu stared at Romeo while gnawing his lip, concerned for the kid he thought of as his brother. Makarov seemed to sigh a bit before rubbing his temples together, utterly perplexed.

“He took the Mount Hakobe Vulcan hunting quest but so far, it’s been a month since he was sent to go and take care of it. The job was listed to hunt for at least twenty Vulcans that were thrashing the nearby villagers and pillaging their food sources but there has been no contact from Macao ever since then even though he promised to,” Makarov states gravelly, eyes fierce.

“That’s unlike Macao-san at all!” Lisanna grew more worried, Romeo limp and passed out from his crying in her arms.

“Your job is to go investigate and bring Macao back… at all costs!” Makarov commanded, smiling a bit as Natsu got revved up and his body started radiating flames. If there was anyone he could count on that involved bringing back their family members, it would be Natsu and despite his destructive tendencies, he was good at retrieval missions. It didn’t hurt that it’s a mountain that they were going to depart for, moreover a blizzard laden mountain; Natsu’s destructive pyrokinetic magic would be slightly hindered and Makarov hoped that would prevail till the end.

“YOSHHH JIJIIIIIII!” Natsu runs out of the guild, still in flames and forgetting about the peacefully sleeping feline on his head.

“Natsu! Wait! We have to pack first!” Lisanna hands Romeo to Mirajane and runs after Natsu, worried that he might jump on a train first before she could convince him otherwise.

“NATSU ITS HOT YOU AHO!” Happy’s blue fur was now charcoal-ed to grey and the poor cat could do nothing but weep as he was rudely awakened by his idiotic partner.

Mirajane and Makarov watched the whole scene with a detached sort of expression, Mira smiling and Makarov looking exasperated at the whole situation.

“I do hope their children won’t end up like Natsu… nah Mirajane?” Makarov smiled at Mira, only to blink in slight shock at the thoughtful expression on her face. Out of all the people in the guild, he would’ve expected the Demon Matchmaker to be the most supportive of her sister’s feelings in regards to the dense Dragon Slayer.

“I’m not sure about that, Master…” Mirajane frowned thoughtfully, unbidden by her matchmaking tendencies this time around.

As Mirajane turns to resume her duties as the guild’s barmaid, Makarov stared at her in wonder. It would’ve been dismissed as irrelevant if Makarov hadn’t felt a small tinge of worry; his children’s future weren’t predictable. He was more worried of the state of the guild and the bonds all of the members had with each other. But what made him feel more worried was Lucy and her continued elusiveness from her own guild mates.

He didn’t know what had happened to Lucy aside from the bits and pieces of information he gleaned from Layla’s letters. Layla had been the happiest she had ever been when she was with Lucy and the woman was a great mother, not only teaching her daughter magic but also letting her have a childhood. Without Layla, Lucy would’ve grown up utterly sheltered from the world around her.

But without her mother, Makarov could see the Lucy that had been so carefully cared for all those years and now he hopes that, in the near future, Lucy would be able to be part of Fairy Tail instead of running away from them.

* * *

Gajeel helped himself into the compartment while Lily floated in shock, staring at him as if he had grown two heads and started singing about unicorns and bubblegum drops. It was a given reaction and Gajeel snickered as he sat on the plush red seats, smirking a bit at the blonde girl who sat across him, her black cloak pooling around her small frame. He frowned a bit when he saw no sight of the grocery bag that she had earlier with her; wondering if she somehow got ambushed and they had gotten stolen in the process. It wouldn’t make sense though, she looked relatively unharmed.

“Oi,” he grunted. From the corner of his eye, he could see that Lily had stopped his gaping and had begrudgingly floated back into the compartment, seated across him and was now staring at both him and the blonde child in curiosity; wondering what their relationship was to the other.

The blonde girl perked up a little at the grunt and seemingly glowed, looking like she sparkled. Gajeel twitched and squinted his eyes at the glowy kid and how much it blinded her, he thought only Loke was this sparkly but apparently the blonde child looked like she beat the strawberry blonde man at his own game. He cackled internally at the comparison; both were blonde albeit in varying shades obviously.

“Hrm?” she tilted her head cutely.

“Where’d all your groceries go?” he stared at her straight in the eye, daring her to lie to him. Not that she could, mind you. Dragon Slayers were – he would admit it without an ounce of shame because how else would he be able to compare their sense to another supernatural being – like werewolves and spirit trackers, they could smell a lie a mile away and everything either smelled too much or were too loud to them. It was the only reason why dragon slayers were trained and selected at a young age, learning it at the age where puberty was around the corner was suicide; he remembers with a shudder.

“Ah? Oh! Those groceries weren’t mine, they were an errand I ran for one of the grandmothers that lived at the edge of Hazure,” he gave her a hard stare.

“Really?”

“Yes! Besides I already have enough in my pantry back at home,”

“…. What’s your name, kid?” Gajeel grumbles once more, the tips of his ears turning red.

“Ah…My name is Lucy Heartfilia. What’s yours, mister?”

Gajeel seemed to perk at the name Heartfilia and at once, he could see a flash of worry in her honey brown eyes. He heard enough stories of the Heartfilia Konzern and the ruthless man that was Jude Heartfilia, in fact he had run a few missions at the man’s expense a few times. He hadn’t been in contact with the man’s dealings for two years now but he was still up on the grapevine. The current rumors were that the Heartfilia patriarch was looking for his wayward runaway daughter who had escaped a year and a half ago just months before her engagement to Lord Phillips. Gajeel would’ve sent her to her dad – family was still important – the minute he had known but looking at her now, barely twelve years old and engaged to a man in his fifties, he was not going to do such a vile thing. It was utterly inhumane the way her dad just went and sold her hand to one of the most disgustingly old men in the noble world. If he ever sees him, he will clock him out and rip his baby making apparatus then encase it into a mold to make a dildo before stuffing it up his ass. Vile as hell.

“Gajeel Redfox and my partner’s name is Pantherlily.Don’t worry kid… I won’t do nothin,” Gajeel reaches out to ruffle the kid’s hair once more. Jesus, he must be hella soft for this kid. Lily seemed to think so from the bulging eyes he spotted on his partner but it was worth it to see the little girl relax and sigh in relief. He felt a bit guilty now.

“Thank you,” Lucy smiled in relief; her features no longer pale.

Lily stared at the unusual pair, somewhat perturbed by Gajeel’s ease around the little girl. He wasn’t suspicious of the girl but more curious about Gajeel’s apparent comfort around the girl, in fact, Gajeel seemed more to be enamored and focused on his conversation with the girl so much that he seemed to forget that he even had motion sickness to begin with. The train had long moved and now they were only an hour away from Magnolia from where they had originally been.

“Ano, Pantherlily-san?” Lucy inquired, eyes bright. Lily turned to her with a bit of an apprehensive smile, wondering what the child wanted; while he had experience with children, particularly Charle’s ward, he wasn’t an expert in any way and he hoped that the girl wouldn’t be too upset with whatever he answered to the question she’s about to ask him.

“You’re an Exceed right?”

Lily blinked.

“Uhh, yes?” he muttered, eyes still wide.

“Do only Dragon Slayers get Exceeds?” Lucy asked, eyes shining gold for a brief moment from the sun’s rays filtering in the compartment.

“Huh, how’d you know that?” Gajeel seemed to ask for him, scratching his head with his iron-tipped nails. While it wasn’t a secret, it was uncommon for mages or even regular people to know that only Dragon Slayers could form bonds with Exceeds; it wasn’t exactly known why but from bits and pieces, it had been noted that Exceeds had once been a warrior race who protected the lands they shared with the Dragons back before they were exiled to Edolas and in return, Dragon Slayers bonded with Exceeds to strengthen their magical cores in battles.

“Ah, you smell like one,” Lucy smiled mysteriously.

Gajeel’s eyes widened before he smirked, feeling interested at the situation.

“Ohoh~?” he prompted, eager to find out what kind of mage the kid before him was.

_‘There’s no way this kid is a civilian… Only mages can smell magic, much less mages who have strong sensory abilities or even better, magic control’_ Gajeel thought with a wicked smirk on his face.

Magic was something that was hard to define even in Earthland. Not everyone was born with magic that brought immense strength or even use, as shown by Reedus’ magic, and everyone’s magics were all based on their ancestral blood, whether they like it or not, and by the DNA strain that existed in their bodies. So far, Dragon Slayers were at the top of the food chain for destructive magic and had to be transferred or taught from the moment they were born or from the moment the Dragon has found their match. Gajeel was taught when he turned four and was left alone in the woods after his parents were massacred. Natsu was taught when Igneel found him washed ashore onto the mouth of his cave. Wendy hadn’t managed to have enough time with Grandine before she too left her. The only exception was probably Laxus, the asshole toned down after getting his ass beat by Master, Natsu, Gajeel and the Raijinshuu who realized their own mistake at the Fairy Fiesta, who had gotten his implanted forcefully into his body as a child and Cobra, the Poison Dragon Slayer who went to jail for at least five years before getting his ass chained down in Fairy Tail for all the trouble he made the entire guild go through. Juvia was still sick of looking at the man for his annoying behavior and would take any chance she could to shovel water down his throat to purge all the poison he had in his body for the shit he pulled; that was amusing as he hadn’t known the adverse affects that pure water could harm the slayer so much. If he had known, he would’ve drowned him at the battle between them and Oracion Seis back then to save him the hassle.

_‘But for this kid…’ _Gajeel stared at her intently. There was no way the kid was in any way a Slayer, the Dragons left in the 7th of the 7th month in the year XX77. The kid was twelve now and she would’ve been five when the Dragons all left, that was the minimum age Dragons taught their matches and there wasn’t much information about other dragons that Metallicana had ever taught Gajeel. Metallicana always spoke about Igneel, Gradine, Skiadrum, Weissologia and Acnologia but no one else. She had to be another type of mage… But what? What magic could constitute the raw power that was brought on by the title of a Dragon Slayer?

Frustrated, Gajeel glared at her to answer him.

“No way, Gajeel-san, you have to figure that out yourself,” Lucy smirked at the man.

“Hell no, I want to know now,” Gajeel grouched.

“Sure… if you make it past the last 45 minutes of the train ride,” Lucy smiled deviously.

Lily watched as his partner lost his interest and now noted that the train, was in fact, moving and he consequently turned green faster than he could sing _Macarena _like he did after the Fairy Fiesta in the guild hall’s stage. The big bad and scary looking Dragon Slayer began to hunch over and gasped a bit, his stomach heaving and he started sweating. It was a miracle that he hadn’t started to puke yet. Lily was looking at him in mild amusement, slightly impressed by Lucy’s diversion tactic. Lily turned to look at Lucy and for a second, swore, he saw horns and a tail growing from the once innocent looking girl.

He shivered. Ignoring Gajeel’s moans and groans of pain.

In the end, Gajeel passed out and Lily had to drag him back to the guild but thank god he was used to Gajeel’s weight or else it wouldn’t have worked. Lucy had stopped and given him a small satchel containing what looked like pills in a pale yellow capsule and had advised him to give it to Gajeel when they need to take a train for their next mission or whatever mode of transport they decided to use. Lily was dubious of its affects, even Wendy couldn’t use Troia anymore because the slayers had built a resistance to her magic after so long, but nonetheless nodded, taking it as he flew. Gajeel was conked out for the rest of the day.

By night fall, Lily had realized that he hadn’t asked where she had lived or where they could meet again.

Drats.

* * *

Lucy thoroughly enjoyed the train ride with her guild mates. It was an unexpected thing to happen to stumble upon the Iron Dragon Slayer and his Exceed in Hazure. Hazure after all was populated with mages more than Magnolia, Fairy Tail’s hometown, and the jobs posted in the guilds in Hazure were done by the end of the day or week. But from what she could deduce, they weren’t here for a mission; Gajeel had looked clean and bruise-free but irritated, without Lily by his side. She had her suspicions confirmed when she had seen, from the corner of her eye as she had turned to duck into the train, that Lily had been shopping. Lily was often seen to be with Gajeel but from time to time would go on shopping sprees, that irritated the hell out of Gajeel but in the end it also pleased Gajeel. Lily was the type to think of others even as he’s doing something for himself.

The train ride to Mount Hakobe was the most fun she had in her life, which was sad seeing as she’s only twelve, and she hadn’t really expected herself to offer the man a seat in her compartment. But in a way, she thinks that this was the way she would compensate for her voluntary elusiveness from her own guild family. She doesn’t think that it was quite the time to reveal herself quite yet and immerse herself in the chaos that was Fairy Tail.

Meeting and talking with Gajeel was amazing. He was everything that she had imagined him to be. He had a mean streak a mile long, but she wouldn’t blame him since his Dragon father was literally a giant tsundere the size of all the dragons combined. Lucy had gotten used to his gruff and mean looking demeanor the whole time she had stayed hidden in the guild, on days where the weather was absolutely bollocks and she just could not afford to go through the guild members fighting like crazy (Natsu-san and Gray-san were utterly unbearable on rainy days, they just would not shut up about flames and being a stripper), she would be forced to stay in the guild master’s office. Impressively, the guild master has a large crystal orb the size of a tuna fish’s head in his document room. How he managed to hide that from Laxus and Mirajane was a mystery. She had never interacted with them both but she knew that the minute they find the orb was the minute all hell would be unleashed.

She had observed all the guild members; particularly Team Natsu as well as the Dragon Slayers of the guild. She found Gajeel to be the most interesting; his element a blend of destruction and creation magic. In comparison to Fire, Lightening, Wind and Poison, Gajeel’s were the ones that frustrate her. She had remembered reading about it once. Iron Magic built and destroyed things but they were a form of magic also known as a Cycle Reverse, the type that was in a constant cycle of giving and destroying life forms.

The man was a living cycle of life and yet he didn’t know it.

“Hime,” Lucy was startled from her thoughts as pink hair filled her peripheral vision, blinking her eyes blearily, she could see the glass was no longer fogged over and she could now see that they were in a cave. Around her, a tent was already set up; the large tent more than enough for her and she could see how much blankets Virgo had piled up for her, knowing she liked to snuggle. A fire had been set up, a big one at that, and Lucy could see that it would last her for the entire night till the morning. Even if it didn’t, she knew Virgo would come to light it up if it ever went out. Her spirits were thoughtful that way.

“Thank you Horologium for carrying me,” she thanked her Clock spirit and she could feel him vibrate as he spoke. It was always a pleasure for her spirits to do her bidding. Not only was she kind but she was also an amazing and thoughtful master compared to any other master they had all had in their previous lives. Not including Layla of course.

“It’s a pleasure Lucy!” the clock spirit opened its glass doors and lets her out, Lucy stretching from the aches she had built up while sitting in the clock, before bowing to Lucy and vanishing in a sparkle of gold, leaving flecks of it in its disappearance.

“I’ve done as you’ve asked, Hime,” Virgo intones monotonously as she tilts her head.

“Thank you, Virgo!” Lucy hugs the spirit.

“Punishment, hime?” Virgo asks, eyes shining in anticipation and Lucy could feel a bead of sweat lining the back of her head. While she wouldn’t trade her spirits for anything, sometimes she finds them utterly weird.

“No punishment, Virgo. You may go back now,” she says nervously and sighs a bit as Virgo bows and once more vanishes in the same fashion as her celestial friend, instead of gold sparkles, there are silver and bright fuchsia sparkles bursting and then falling to the floor like glitter.

“She sure knows how to make an exit,” Lucy laughs at her own joke, ambling towards her tent. The smell of cinnamon sticks and pine cone assaulted her nose as she blissfully dumps herself into the mountains of blankets and pillows, it was going to be absolutely cold anyway. She properly immerses herself in the blankets and pillows before laying absolutely still, the sound of the harsh wind meters away from how deep she is in the cave and the crackling fire her companion for the night.

She slept fitfully.

* * *

“Natsu! Hold on!” Lisanna yelps as a stray Vulcan grabs onto her waist, hauling her on its shoulders before shrieking as Lisanna scratches it with her Take Over: Leopard claws before dumping her harshly onto the floor. Lisanna grunts in pain before forcing herself to get up, her side bleeding.

“Natsu!” she called out worriedly, pupils dilated and shaking in fear.

The Vulcan that Natsu was fighting was no ordinary Vulcan. An Evolved Vulcan was twice the danger an ordinary Vulcan brought onto it’s opponents. Not only was it bigger and dangerous, it was more intelligent from years of experience and instead of the normal dull color a Vulcan would have, its fur a gradient of flaming hot red from the bottom of its legs to a soft almost peach color. Lisanna would’ve cooed at the colour combination since pink was her most favorite color. But on an Evolved Vulcan it looked much more terrifying with its sharp tusk like fangs and red scleroses.

“Damn it! Watch it! You banana elephant!” Natsu snarled, fists still aflame.

They were running out of time. Macao was nowhere to be found for miles. They had rushed all the way from Magnolia to here in record time and hadn’t been fully prepared for the brutal climate that was purely Mount Hakobe. But Lisanna hoped, that like all times, Natsu is somehow able to prevail against all odds. He always did. What difference did it make if he didn’t now?

“Fuck!” Her train of thought was cut off with the sound of slicing and she watched, horrified, as the Evolved Vulcan cleanly sliced the skin of Natsu’s right forearm, rendering the nerves dead and it hung limply.

_Shitshitshitshitshitshitshitshitshitshitshitshitshitshitshitshitshitshitshitshitshitshitshitshitshitshitshitshit – sHIT _

“Lisanna, run!” Natsu called out desperately, eyes wide as he tried to distract the monster and at least save his friend and let her call for back-up. As much as he would loathe to admit it, the conditions of the fight and the environment were giving him more problem than he should.

He shoved against the beast with all his might, managing to at least throw it off a couple of meters and then he advances again, this time with a barely contained Crimson Lotus Exploding Flame Blade. The Evolved Vulcan was now knocked to the ground. But Natsu wouldn’t count on it holding it down much longer; he could see it stirring from its position on the ground.

He quickly grabbed onto Lisanna with his left hand and without care, dragged her through all the pathways of the cave in the mountain; only relying on his sense of smell that was rapidly fading due to the harsh cold. Lisanna yelps at the pressure on her arm but she could feel the urgency in the way his breath came in stutters and his body was rapidly going cold.

“Natsu! Where are we going!?” Lisanna nearly trips over a small pebble with the fast pace they were going, as if flitting through each pathway before them to escape the Vulcan.

“We need to get to Happy! He has the communications lacrima with him! We can call Gramps and get back up!” his lungs, ironically, feel like they were on fire and ice at the same time. Realistically, he knew that they wouldn’t make it in time with the way exhaustion was clinging onto him like a film and Lisanna herself couldn’t find the way back to Happy; he was so close to blacking out but he had to make it. Realistically he knew he would black out and leave Lisanna to figure things out by herself. Realistically Lisanna had nothing on her that could enhance her sense of smell. Not even Take Over magic. Realistically he knew he would fail.

Then his world blackened.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay wow its been such a long time since my last update... nearly 2? 3 weeks? In the spare time I've had, schoolwork had piled and I've been agonizing over the quality of chapter 2 and 3. Sorry guys (￣▽￣) I was also trying to re-integrate myself in the anime world while not really shifting from the k industry. So I've been re-watching Haikyuu! and even re-watched Nobunagun (I highly recommend this anime! It's so underrated!). On my personal quest, I even managed to find Ookiku Furikabutte! which I absolutely fell in love with (˘∀˘)/(μ‿μ) ❤
> 
> I'll probably post a drabble featuring all the fanfics and the prompts I want to do in the future. So if you guys have the time or are interested, drop by when I post it! It's going to be up sometime in November (￣ω￣;)
> 
> ANYWAYS! Thank you to the three reviewers who had left reviews for this story! I'm an FF net author so I'm used to reviews only and not yet getting into the flow of AO3. The third chapter is currently in the making, I'm hoping to at least stamp this story to 20 or 25 chapters. I feel that the 10 marks are too short for a story anyway. I hope everyone can comment~! (づ￣ ³￣)づ
> 
> Thank you for being patient with me!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jura hopes for a more sane member in their council.He did not sign up for this. Neither did Hyberion. Makarov thinks that his children need to learn patience; especially Laxus and Cobra.

The train screeched to a halt, unpleasant and dreary in the sun bathed streets of Magnolia. People were still milling about but the scenery was pleasant, a mellow glow falling beneath the passing people’s forms and it brought an overwhelming feeling of content. The atmosphere was to safely say, wonderful. To all but Lucy that is.

“Ugh” she grunts as she drags an unconscious Natsu-san and Lisanna-san, practically heaving in pain with the body weight of the two older teenagers. She looked relatively fine except for a few stray fabric frays alongside her maroon scarf but the two people she had been carrying looked far worse, with Natsu-san’s pants in dire condition and Lisanna-san’s crop top barely covering her shoulder and looking more like a tank top. Beside her, a large silver glowing sphere floated with a very much passed out Happy and all the belongings they had brought with them on the way to Mt. Hakobe. Next to him floated Macao-san, passed out and banged up pretty badly. Though, Lucy supposed that it was better than him getting his limbs scorched or decapitated.

“These two are idiots,” she grumbled in distaste and was a second too late as she tripped over a rock, face planting onto the ground before her. She could only groan in pain from the impact on her face.

Struggling to get up once more, she places her right arm onto the ground and uses it to lift herself back up whilst carrying the two unconscious mages. She figures that it would take quite a while to get to Fairy Tail, she wasn’t going to waste anymore magic than she should to make another sphere to carry the two lugs. Irritated, she makes her way to the middle of Magnolia where Fairy Tail resides; a two hour walk seeing as Magnolia was huge and for some reason, Fairy Tail had to be conveniently placed in the busiest part of it.

By the time she arrived, it was night fall and she slightly groaned once more, childishly and without remorse. While Lucy was more or less mature, even for an 11 year old child, she wouldn’t think twice about being a brat. Sometimes, it was good to act her age.

Stopping a few feet away from the door, she closed her eyes and furrowed her eyebrows. In her mind’s eye, she could detect at least six magical signatures and all were varying in size and colour. A gold yellow one, she presumed Laxus-san, a dark fuchsia who she was sure was Mirajane-san, a bright amber signature she identified as Loke-san, a pale light blue signature that vaguely felt like Wendy-san, a small maroon coloured signature she knew to be Romeo who was around five years old and a violent garnet one she knew to belong to Cobra-san, the somewhat new Dragon Slayer in the guild. She knew that Master’s signature was hidden in the office, let up with non-sensory charms and protection amulets all adorning the second floor and its rooms.

_‘I’m too tired to put up my invisible dome… Guess I’ll just pull up my hood’_ Lucy resigned to herself as she flared a bit of her magic, enough to lift her hood up and drape it over her head. Her robe was a dark brown colour, as opposed to the popular black colour and her maroon coloured scarf was looped together on her neck outside of the robe instead of inside.

Gearing herself up for the confrontation, she let out a loud exhale and stepped forward into the guild.

_‘Home’_

* * *

“Laxus! Stop brooding and at least help!” Mirajane scolded once she spotted Laxus lying on the floor of the guild, absently flickering the button on a stun gun to turn it on and off as he swallowed the electric currents flickering from the device.

Mirajane and Kinana were piling up dishes from the day’s work. Cobra was sitting on the bar countertop and cackling as he drank his own element’s beverage, a strong mixture of bleach, sulphur and mercury in a radioactive safe mug while Loke was just staring into nothing as he drank his own beer. Romeo was passed out on the counter next to him, snoring and finally getting ample sleep after worrying about his father for a month. Wendy though was humming while eating her food, sweet Japanese curry with tempura and at its side sat a cool glass of blueberry ice tea.

“Leave it demon maid, bonanza isn’t going to do shit unless it’s interesting to him,” Cobra snarked at Mirajane as he gulps down his poison, his elven ears perking up once in a while. Laxus, annoyed at the man reading his thoughts once more, aimed a jolt of lightning bolt towards him without giving his thoughts away and watched, satisfied, as the Poison Slayer yelped and fell off the counter he had been sitting on.

“Oi, spark chump!” Cobra bared his fangs at the man lying on the floor.

“Oh~? Wanna go, cancer child?” Laxus grinned back, sitting up abruptly from the floor and effortlessly standing, electricity sparking off him in waves.

Wendy nervously watched all of this from her perch on a stool of her own, not daring to intervene. It wasn’t uncommon for both Laxus and Cobra to duke it out in the guild, reigning far more destruction than Natsu and Gray combined, but it was the middle of the night and she’s sure that their neighbours and patrons wouldn’t be pleased to find that the brawling also went down during the night. Looking from the corner of her eye, she could see that both Kinana and Mirajane were unfazed and seemed to be enjoying the whole ordeal. It meant that she and Loke would be the only ones to deal with this.

“Ano… Laxus-san…Cobra-san…” Wendy squeaked as the two of them turned to her abruptly, fangs still bared.

“What pipsqueak!” They griped threateningly at the young Slayer, knowing that she would easily back off. Loke, seeing this, intervened before it could get any further.

“Laxus, Cobra, I don’t think that’s such a good idea,” Loke said with narrowed eyes behind his glasses, perturbed by the two Slayers and their blood thirsty grins. He wasn’t really in the mood for the two horsing around and causing another whopping jewel amount of damage. They had enough with Natsu and his recklessness as well as the Raijinshuu going off every once in a while.

“Oh yeah-“ Laxus snarled only to be cut off by a loud thump.

Turning around, they all blinked, dumbfounded, by the figure walking into the guild and right pass them. Not only that, but they had both Lisanna and Natsu perched on their small child like figure while above them floated Happy and Macao, passed out. It only took them a second but once they registered the fact that.

One, someone unknown entered their guild.

Two, four of their guild members were passed out and in possession by the small figure.

Three, they had been ignored.

Cobra reacted fast, fangs out and dripping as he rounded onto the unknown person and then quickly using both hands to put his hands on them and then smashing them down onto the ground.

_CRASH _

The sound was disturbingly loud and the rest of the members flinched, except Laxus, at the amount of force Cobra had obviously placed onto hindering the person unconscious and buried deep into the concrete floor of the guild. The small crater that they had been shoved into looked devastating; with poison slowly dripping from Cobra’s poison tipped nails and his fangs still secreting copious amounts of poison oozing into the cracks. Cobra looked thrilled if not slightly livid.

“Now who are you, little sneak?” Cobra purred and Laxus rolled his eyes, before coming over and then kicking Cobra harshly off the person.

“LAXUS YOU BITCH!” Cobra roared, getting up slowly from the kick.

“Tch,” was all that passed through Laxus’ lips before he turned back to the figure still laying on the floor. 

Lucy felt a headache going on. She knew that she would’ve gotten into trouble the minute she decided to just waltz into the guild without her barrier on and just her hood covering her face. She greatly underestimated how much strength they would’ve used to try and subdue her, now it seemed like everything was backfiring into her face and her clothes were more or less damaged by all the poison Cobra-san had released from both his fangs and his nails.

Her magic, thank god, was filtering all the toxic fumes and liquid seeping into her skin and preventing her from getting a seizure from an overdose. But she could still feel the strain, she had been able to see her celestial sphere flicker briefly when she had her head slammed down by Cobra-san and thanked her lucky stars that her magic was sentient to a certain extent.

“Damn…” she hissed a bit as she felt the stress nearly crush her and was relieved that at least her dragonhide robes were still intact. She wouldn’t be able to get away without her identity being exposed otherwise. She had to act fast though; she could practically feel Laxus-san stomping as he made his way to her, no doubt about to kick her down like he did to Cobra-san. So with all her strength left in her tiny body, she propelled herself forward and towards the man; startling all that was there to witness it.

Laxus, his foot raised to kick the intruder, went cross-eyed as the figure propelled itself and straight towards him. He barely managed to bring his arms up to shield himself as the person smacked into him and bounced off, landing on their feet a few meters away from the rest of them.

Laxus was left staring at the person in rage as they stood up from their crouch and faced him, his other guild mates behind him while the rest were still encased in the floating sphere that never seemed to falter despite the person having all their concentration focused on the impending beat down they had received.

In one fluid motion, the person raised its left hand up and then they could see that both Lisanna and Natsu began glowing before a silver sphere slowly formed into existence, encasing them within and then the spheres holding both Happy and Macao began glowing an intense amber light before abruptly floating above them, staying close to the ceiling.

“OY! Bring them back down!” Laxus-san and Cobra-san growled loudly.

It was a miracle that Romeo was able to sleep through all the smashing and crashing.

Loke observed the newcomer with a small sense of being threatened, his magic kept strictly at bay as he stared at the figure and silently wondering what a Celestial Mage was doing in Fairy Tail of all places. He had been sure that no one in Fairy Tail possessed Celestial magic or could even have the possibility of entering the Spirit World with their magic. Even then, there hadn’t been any new members lately; he knew because Mirajane would’ve talked his ears about it at some point. Celestial magic was rare and difficult to control since it was a holder magic and not conduit magic.

Whatever the person was here for though he knew that he had to get the whole situation in check. Laxus and Cobra destroyed things more than their Fire and Ice counterparts and Master wouldn’t be happy knowing that they had destroyed more of the guild than any other enemy guild or villain. Clenching his fists, he let a small tendril of his own magic slither from his shadows and nearing the figure, struck.

Only to scream in agony.

“Loke!” Wendy and Mirajane gasped as the man was electrocuted, falling to the floor on his knees and his body spasming at the sudden shock. They all watched with wide eyes as the man fell to his knees.

“Ugh… maybe… I … shouldn’t have been… so rude…” Loke laughed sardonically as he coughed, bile rising up his throat and then he vomited onto the floor, muscles still throbbing and raw.

Seeing the chance, the figure struck one foot back and then sped towards them. Out of thin air, a golden light shone and a spear materialized, the person grabbing onto it with practiced eased. Without hesitation, they dove for Mirajane and Mirajane flipped out of the way, startled beyond compare and managing to land on top of the many table. Where the figure had slashed at moments ago, there was a large crater the size of small meteor on the wall.

_This fucking douche-! _

Cobra rushed at them again and this time Lucy was ready, her golden spear looming over her and casting a dangerous glow on the otherwise short opponent. Waiting as Cobra came at her, she twirled the spear around and struck his head.

_CLACK _

Unending, she continued to continuously barrage him with her attacks. Silver and gold wisps of energy wrapping and then suddenly, as if struck by lightning, Cobra lunged again and swiped at her with his claws while snarling like a wild beast.

**POISON DRAGON’S ROAR!**

“TCH!” They finally heard the figure say before they saw them jump and gracefully land away from the attack.

“Fight me you coward!” Cobra snapped.

He was frustrated. For the first time in his life, he couldn’t hear whatever the person was thinking or even predict the movements they would make. Usually he felt a small reprieve from not being able to listen to a lot of things but not at this time. His opponent this time smelled strong and it was a pungent smell; a smoldering smell of fire, iron and electricity with the stinging sensation of something that could freeze hell over for years.

Laxus was feeling the same thing but more of excitement and a giddy almost childlike glee, evident with his maniacal grin. It had been such a long time since he had a fight this worthy; his sense of smell wasn’t as on par as Cobra or the other Dragon Slayer but he could tell that this person was strong. They easily shocked Loke, a literal Celestial manna medium, enough to make him puke his guts out and neutralize Cobra’s poison without a single hitch. With how intense the fight had been, they even managed to keep the spheres holding their friends intact and without a single glance at it even.

The others weren’t quite sure about the whole situation. Wendy felt like ice had entered her veins and froze them, she was only nine years old and she knew that she couldn’t possibly aid the adults in the fight while Mirajane was worried that more of the guild lounge was going to be destroyed. Loke had long passed out and Romeo was still asleep; surprisingly.

“I’ll cut you up real good,” Laxus advanced on them with a crazed glint in his eyes and licking his lips hungrily.

_Shit-!_

_When did they-?!_

Suddenly they all froze, eyes widening as they felt their limbs grow heavy. They all looked down and became surprised to see a rune circle all surrounding them, a bright gold glow filled with non-descript squiggles and a big pentagram rotating lazily, almost as if mocking them for their carelessness. Dread filled them all, once they realised that the rune circle was completely impenetrable and practically indestructible; Laxus and Cobra kept trying to wrench themselves free from it but were still unable to break free. The hooded person then seemed to stare right at them… before glancing to the second floor of the guild. All of their eyes widened.

Master-!

Jiji-!

“I think that’s enough now,”

* * *

“I think that’s enough now,” Makarov’s voice echoed around the destroyed guild lounge and Lucy could almost drop down in exhaustion and relief.

Her arms were aching and her skin felt like they had been skinned and washed underneath cold water before re-attaching to her body once more. She didn’t think that both Laxus-san and Cobra-san would be so obsessed with getting her to fight them and neither did she expect Loke-san to do a sneak attack on her. Furthermore, she wouldn’t be able to recover from magical drainage in a week if they continued to outright demolish her. Just because she didn’t exist to her guild mates and they didn’t know of her, didn’t make that it was okay for her to attack them. In her defence, they started it first though.

She looked up at the ceiling and saw that her captives were still asleep and had thankfully so. If they had woken up, they would’ve been able to easily break themselves free from her Mobility Sphere; the spheres weren’t indestructible and weren’t created to trap people. She wouldn’t need more people trying to hinder and limit her movements; Natsu-san was erratic in his approaches and Lisanna-san was the same. Happy wouldn’t be a choice for her to fight and Macao-san could easily burn her if she was distracted enough by Natsu-san. Sniffling slightly, she raised her left hand and motioned for the spheres to float back down and then turned towards Makarov, completely ignoring the other trapped mages.

Makarov raised his eyebrows up when he noticed that Lucy hadn’t bothered to unseal her other guild mates and chuckled.

“_Maes seren_, I think you should let your guild mates down,” he laughed at the dumbfounded looks his other children sported.

Instead of answering the Master, Lucy shot her left arm out with her palms outstretched and then clenched them. Almost immediately, they all felt their muscles unfreeze and spasm from the sudden freedom of mobility. Luckily for them, most of them were able to catch themselves free from disgracing their faces with the filthy floor but it couldn’t be said for an unconscious Loke and a quickly angered Cobra.

“Y-you’re going…to pay! For THAT!” Cobra stammers as he bit back a wail of pain, his muscles knotted and feeling the burn of a pulled muscle.

“Hehehehhehheheheh, chemical princess is pathetic,” Laxus rumbles out in amusement before narrowing his eyes and then turning to the little hooded asshole who just barely made it out of him pounding them to the pavement and eating dirt. Never mind that Laxus clearly got his ass handed to him while the rest had been rendered motionless and Cobra was more or less in the same predicament he had been in.

“Gramps, who’s the squirt?”

All of a sudden, the atmosphere turned to ice and fire at the same time. Makarov could only stare in fear at the obvious culprit; Lucy. Her hood was slightly flared and from behind, an ominous black shadow stood over her with an intensity that would make any grown man cry.

_‘Oh dear,’_ Mirajane and Wendy thought.

“L-let’s discuss this upstairs shall we?” Makarov bravely goes to Lucy and carries her; she was surprisingly quite light for an eleven year old girl and while he does know that she eats, she’s practically Natsu but more graceful in her manners, it doesn’t stop him from spoiling her with treats every now and then.

Walking up the stairs, they all watched as their guild master carried their alleged guild mate up the stairs without flinching and then looked at each other, dubious. The spheres that had been housing their unconscious guild mates also seemed to follow, slowly dissipating as the corners of the 2nd floor became narrow and they only floated into the open door of the office. They didn’t know what to think of the situation. It wasn’t every day that you come across an intruder just waltzing into their guild and then battling them only to find out that they were actually their guild member. One they didn’t know existed.

“….I’ll bring Loke and Romeo to the infirmary,” Mirajane spoke up from the silence, earning nods and then going to the bar counter and gently picking Romeo up before she kneeled and then grabbed Loke from his tuxedo coat. Her heels clicking behind her as she left for the infirmary that’s just under the stairs and out of sight of non-members.

Wendy didn’t know what to think of the person who looked like they were older or more than her. During the whole fight she had been convinced that they could at least pin them down and interrogate them for barging into their guild but the split second that they had easily slammed into Laxus and then avoid Cobra’s barrage of attacks was when she started sweating bullets. She had been the recipient of Laxus’ kicks once upon a time and the man’s foot, she swore, was probably made of bricks.

“Laxus-san, what do you think?” Wendy turned to her guild mate meekly, face paling at the terrifying scowl on his face and hearing the disdained clicking of his tongue made it worse. She could face opponents any day and be totally fine but lock her in a room with Laxus and she would immediately combust from just hearing him talk.

“Tch, get up Oxygen tank and find out yourself,” Laxus pushed past her and stomped up the stairs, his hands in his pockets and his fur coat singed terribly. She couldn’t blame him for being in a bad mood. He always was anyway.

“Ignore the lightning prick and just get up, squirt,” Cobra patted her head and quickly went up the stairs. She hesitated for only a moment before she followed. In the corner of her eye she could see that Mirajane had come up and was climbing up the stairs as well.

The office was a place that Wendy had never ever been to despite being in the guild for almost three years now. She hadn’t known what to expect, possibly a modern and sleek looking office. But her expectations were thrown out the window the minute she stepped in. Not the bad kind thankfully.

The room was huge; a soft beige lacquer on the walls, polished wooden floors and all. There was a whole array of bean bags as well as a sofa bed and couches arranged on the right of the room with a rather long coffee table in the middle of it. Surrounding the area were shelves of books and files. The left side was where the desks and chair was for official discussions; Wendy could see the guild stamp encased in a glass dome on a lone table next to the Master’s desk.

“Now let’s get to business,” Makarov guided them towards the sitting area with beanbags and all.

The hooded figure seemed to nod but didn’t sit down. They instead turned to the floating bodies of Natsu, Lisanna, Happy and Macao along with a few travelling packs and clicked their fingers, they slowly floated downwards to rest on one of the many bean bags. Then they turned towards Makarov who nodded and then turned towards the other four members.

“Everyone, I would like you to meet our guild member,” Makarov smiled as he gestured towards the stranger and Laxus could feel himself getting annoyed; they hadn’t taken their hoodie off yet.

“Take off your hoodie, brat,” it seemed that Cobra had the same thoughts.

“Unfortunately, that isn’t negotiable,” Makarov frowned a bit at their hostile behaviour. While it was understandable that they wanted to see the face and identity of their supposed guild mate, he still had a promise to keep to her. It also didn’t feel like the right time for him to so casually expose her to her obviously still immature guild mates, it was a feeling in his gut that hoped would not lead to future complications.

“Why Gramps? They ugly or somethin’?” Laxus scoffed.

Within seconds, a sharp blade was shoved underneath his jugular and digging into his skin and threatening to rip him to pieces.

“Maes seren, put that down,” Makarov sighed, as if telling a disobedient child to behave.

As fast as the blade appeared, it did so with its disappearance.

“Listen well,” Makarov turned serious glaring eyes towards his grandson and his other children. He didn’t find his grandson’s insult towards Lucy very humorous or even nice, he’d damn well would’ve whooped his ass to high heaven if he could but he had more pressing matters to deal with; such as Macao’s situation.

“All you have to know is that this is your guild mate, code named Maes Seren and why they’re here today has to do with Team Natsu’s latest mission,” he gestured towards the unconscious Team Natsu and Macao. Mirajane seemed to perk up at this and stared at Maes Seren before suddenly smiling and then turning towards Makarov with a question on her lips.

“I thought Team Natsu was handling it quite well?” Mirajane questioned.

It was a plausible one. Natsu was fully capable of destroying and also completing the objectives of his mission while Lisanna was able to somewhat be part of the support as well as the rationale of the group, Happy was good as another support asset. It wouldn’t make sense for Team Natsu to fail at their mission, they were the strongest; even if the current Team Natsu was missing two of its core members. Gray was on his own mission on the far end of Fiore, at Silviskees Island dealing with ice dragon manifestations and Erza was on a mission with Levy in Halbern City for monsters terrorizing the residents.

“I thought that as well but…” Makarov held out his hand towards Maes Seren and they reached into their, magically regenerated, cloak and produced two Lacrima orbs; one a familiar flaming red orb and another one shrouded in a mysterious milky silver colour.

“We’ll see what happened once we review the Lacrimae first,” Makarov decided. However before he could, he was suddenly disturbed by a noise.

Maes Seren clapped their hands, startling them and Makarov turned to look at them, eyebrow raised. The rest just stared at the unusual scene of the Master just staring at Maes Seren without speaking. This went on for several minutes before the Master just sighed in defeat and seemed to be resigned at whatever just happened.

“Fine, you are dismissed,” Makarov made a shooing motion with his right hand. That seemed to snap them from their dumbfounded states of confusion and begin to protest, especially Laxus and Cobra.

They both were more or less frustrated that they couldn’t get more from the master. They had hoped that with their mysterious guild mate staying back to watch both the Lacrimae, they might be able glean more information and possibly get a sparring partner in return. No one had been able to make their bloodlust skyrocket and thrilled them enough to want to fight and train daily. No one but this midget.

In the midst of the chaos, no one noticed Maes Seren disappear; silver and gold dust left in their wake.

* * *

“How annoying…” Lucy clicks her tongue as she made her way through the town square; her hood no longer shielding her face and she was glad that she had made the split second decision to high tail it out of the office. She didn’t fancy dealing with Laxus-san or Cobra-san’s blood lust and getting provoked into a fight with two of the guild’s driving destruction force.

She was tired and aching in places she shouldn’t be aching in… All because of Natsu-san and his team….

_Lucy braved through the cold blizzard; her eyes irritated and almost frozen stiff with the low temperature. She would’ve called onto Horologium if she could but she had estimated that the mouth of the entrance to the mountain was only a few meters away and it would be a waste of magical energy for her to call onto Horologium now. She was not going to waste her reserves just to keep warm for a few measly minutes. _

_It proved to be a wise choice because in under thirty minutes she could already see the mouth of a cave, wide and gaping with strangely shaped stalactites and stalagmites. As she got closer, she soon found out why she had found them strange; they were shaped to look like human teeth. _

_“Hrmm, Mother Nature seems to favour the animalistic,” Lucy frowned as she came upon the entrance. The entrance smelled, at least to her, of years of decay and potent magical signatures. It was a heavy smell; one that not even snow or rain could wash away. _

_She ventured further into the entrance, reassured that at least she knew what she was getting into. As she discovered, the more she went in, the more she could see of animal and human bones; there were even unmined crystals but she dared not to touch them. They were worthless to her anyway. _

_Suddenly, she felt the ends of her hair stand up. Sensing the immediate danger, she whirled and positioned her body to the left side; another opening in the complex maze of twists and turns. Pivoting her right foot behind her, she used her left foot to propel her forwards to where she sensed the danger. It would make sense for her to turn the other way but whatever it was made her think that someone was in danger. The aura wasn’t even meant to intimidate her; that meant that someone else was here too! _

** _ROAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRR _ **

_She finally stopped running as she came upon the scene. Her eyes widened in shock seeing the large beast before her and the sight of its fur almost made her backtrack. In her haste, she managed to somehow forget that there were still stalagmites in random places and tripped over one, catching the attention of the monster. Its eyes immediately snapped towards her and noticing her, snarled viciously. _

_‘Crap’_

_In a split second, she rolled to her left and back flipped to gain some distance between her and the being. She pulled her dagger from its sheath on her hip and slashed at the ground, a large golden wall made of pure magic rising and sealing the beast from coming towards her. She had to think of a plan first and think quick. But she couldn’t hold on for too much longer; the ape-like creature was already pounding away its fists against her protective barrier. It would break soon with how intense the monster’s smashing was. _

_She studied the creature closely, her heartbeat erratic and her breath almost coming up short. _

_It was a strange beast, one she didn’t really recognize. Its fur a flaming red gradient from its feet to a peach pink colour at the top of its head, large elephant like tusks adorned its mouth and the whites of its eyes resembled the colour of blood. It opened its mouth and from there she could see the pearly teeth all shaped like fangs but smaller and similar to that of a shark. But looking at its nose, she knew what it was. An evolved Vulcan._

_‘But evolved Vulcans don’t typically come out and attack people, they’re more volatile and solitary compared to normal Vulcans… So they stay in the summits of mountains to avoid humans… To see one in the lower cavities must mean that…’ she inched closer and then saw it. _

_Lying face down and tangled together was a familiar tuft of rose coloured hair and shockingly white strands all in a heap in the far corner, left alone with the Vulcan’s attention on her. She could see all the myriads of colours left on their skin; blooming blues, purples, yellows and even a black coloured bruise that she was sure to hurt as soon as they woke up. Natsu-san seemed to bear more of the brunt of the attacks and even unconscious, his body was shielding Lisanna-san from further harm. _

_‘As expected of Natsu-san but… why are they here?’ making a split decision, she quickly rummages into her pocket and brought out a small bubble-gum sized orb out, enlarging it to reveal a silver sphere Lacrima. She needed information before she could retrieve both Natsu-san and Lisanna-san. She needed to make sure that whatever they had been sent on they had either completed or there were extra details she could finish in the process of their retrieval. She didn’t want to have to resort to going back here if she had to. She had a key to find and now, she had her guild mates to save. _

_The Lacrima shone and buzzed with a loud static noise disturbance, it irritated her, but this type of Lacrima was useful. No matter what situation she’s in, the person she would be calling for would be obliged to pick her call up because of the unique yet annoying feature of the Lacrima communicator she owned. It would constantly ring in the owner’s head until they picked up. There was no way for them to turn it off except to answer it. _

_“----Lucy?” Makarov’s confused and worried face reflected against the screen of the communicator as he stared in confusion. It was a reason to be worried. Lucy rarely called of her own volition unless it was dire; times like that are rare. _

_“Grandfather… I’m in Mt Hakobe and it seems that both Natsu-san and Lisanna-san are knocked out and unconscious,” Lucy stated anxiously, the situation was dire. For now she had the Vulcan’s full attention, its fists still pounding away at her barrier and unrelenting as well, but it wouldn’t be long before it broke or it decided to turn back to the two unconscious mages within its grasp. _

_Understanding dawned on Makarov’s face at her statement and at once, it looked like her was ready to hyperventilate but then he remembered who he was talking to and why and began to calm down; having full faith in Lucy’s abilities. _

_“I assigned Team Natsu to retrieve Macao from Mt Hakobe quite a while ago. How long have you been there?”_

_“I was here yesterday but I was camped out North of Mt Hakobe at the foot of it,” Lucy answered. Makarov seemed to panic once more. _

_“That’s not good! If you were there yesterday, that means that Team Natsu had been there for three… It was Wednesday when they hopped on the train for the retrieval mission…. What’s the estimate time of them being unconscious?” Makarov looked like he was ready to fly over in an instant. He hadn’t anticipated that Team Natsu would encounter problems for Macao’s retrieval mission. _

_“Judging from Natsu-san’s injuries and the bruising, I’d say that they had been unconscious for roughly six hours… Natsu-san’s most serious injury looks like a black bruise that has yet to fade to purple. I’d say they’re still fresh…” With that information, Makarov sighed in relief. _

_“Good… with Natsu’s body heat near Lisanna, there’s less chances of them catching hypothermia and dying while injured… Happy should be there, probably in an area that’s less conspicuous and Macao… please find him. He hasn’t been in for over a month and – “whatever that Makarov was going to say next was cut off as the barrier shattered, the Vulcan shrieking in triumph as it towered over Lucy. _

_Lucy quickly shut off the communicator as she dodged the oncoming fist headed towards her. She now had enough information to finish the rescue mission and then find the key that had been rumoured to be in Mt Hakobe. _

_“I summon thee, Gate of The Maiden: Virgo!” the spirit appeared in a rain shower of golden sparkles. Instead of appearing in her usual maid outfit, the spirit was clad in an black military uniform complete with a hat and black platform boots; both her wrists were silver holding cuffs and she held a big reaper’s scythe on her left hand, the blade glinting ominously. _

_“What are your orders, hime?” Virgo asked tonelessly, gripping the scythe as she looked on at the smug Vulcan. _

_“Subdue it… I want to test a theory,” she glared as the Vulcan smirked predatorily down at them. _

_She found it utterly odd how Macao hadn’t been spotted or even his remains. From what she had known of Vulcans and ones that had evolved past their initial appearance, their victims weren’t killed. They were buried alive with their heads sticking out of the soil; in the spare time that she had before entering the entrance, she had scanned for human signatures. So far, she only had the two human signatures that she now knows as Lisanna-san and Natsu-san. She’s sure that Happy was somewhere in the tunnels; she just has to find him. Macao-san however could be in grave danger if her hypothesis is correct. _

_With no hesitation, Virgo shot herself towards the Vulcan and brought up the blunt down on its head hard. The Vulcan screeched in anger and swung its fists down, but missed as Virgo merely leaped and twirled in mid-air to avoid it. She landed on the back of its head and put her legs up to lock it between her thighs before bending backwards, carrying all its weight to slam it to the ground. _

_“Not a scratch, Virgo!” she called out and Virgo nodded before resuming the proverbial beat down of the Vulcan. _

_“I summon thee, Gate of the Bull: Taurus!” Lucy called out as she tossed the key in mid-flight and Taurus materialized, green sparks raining down with his entrance. Like Virgo, Taurus had opted to appear in his combat form rather than his normal bull form. Combat Taurus was human in appearance; he had tanned skin, purple eyes and long silver hair spiked up and reaching his back. He had bandages that spanned from his throat to his wrists and wore a black tank top and green cargo pants, black boots snug on his feet. His choice of weaponry today is a two bladed spear, the blade thick and adorned with the horoscope’s symbol in a silver sheen. _

_“Lucy-sama!” The spirit landed next to Lucy, his landing making the floor crack under the pressure of his magical energy. _

_“Retrieve Natsu-san and Lisanna-san,” Lucy commanded and the spirit nodded, rushing to meet with Virgo and the Vulcan and bringing down his spear; successfully distracting the monster and freeing Virgo from its grasp. Not wasting any more time, Virgo kicked it in the face and punched it straight up on the stomach. _

_Taurus quickly ran off from the battle and stood looking at his mission, carrying them both on his arms and then zipping through the legs of the Vulcan still fighting with Virgo. He placed them on the ground gently beside his master and stood watching the whole battle, unconcerned and on guard. _

_“Virgo is about to be done,” Lucy stated with a confident look in her eyes. Taurus nodded. _

_“Am I needed for further assistance?” he asked her. _

_“No, you may return. Thank you Taurus,” she smiled at him. _

_………………._

_There was a moment of silence before it was broken by Taurus’ squealing and then Lucy could feel herself sweat in slight fear. _

_“Lucccyyyy-sammmmaaaaa!!!!!! You’re so cuteeeee! I Taurus – “the overenthusiastic spirit was cut off as Lucy force closed his gate and she breathed a sigh of relief. She could not believe how different her spirit’s appearance and his personality clashed; it was as if the man was bipolar. _

_She snapped her eyes from where Taurus had been and smiled as Virgo came up to her and bowed. From behind her, she could see the still form of Macao-san. _

_‘I guess I was right after all,’ she mused at the man’s unconscious body lying face down. _

_It took her less than an hour to find Happy in one of the deeper parts of the tunnel, the poor cat also unconscious from the cold and nearly catching hypothermia if it weren’t for the scaled scarf wrapped around him like a cocoon. She bent down and examined the area carefully; seeing only two backpacks and a lone campfire long put out by the cold draft, she picked them all up and resumed to find the key she had originally come for. She had instructed both Taurus and Virgo to bring all four of her guild mates to her camp site while she looked for the key. She was confident that she would be able to find the key anyway and handle herself when an obstacle stands in her way. _

* * *

The cathedral was where they decided they would meet.

In the centre of the cathedral resembled a court room. The centre sunken down with a high table and ten high chairs to match with it. The light from the moon illuminated from the mosaic painted glass windows and brought an eerie glow onto the table and the lone occupant of it; waiting for his companions to make do with their appointment. He wasn’t sure why they decided that the cathedral was the best place for the meeting and neither was he sure of what they would discuss about but he did have an inkling as to what. The amount of years that had passed would be enough to initiate it.

“Jura, I see that you’re early,” a voice suddenly spoke from his right and startling him, making him drop the silver goblet he had been drinking from onto the table. Calming his erratic heartbeat, he sighed and then glared at the man across him; utterly annoyed.

“Doranbolt, I would appreciate it if you at least have the decency to announce your presence,” Jura grunted in a displeased fashion. Doranbolt merely smiled and chuckled; the man was never easily fazed. He was too damn cheeky for his own good and sometimes, Jura wondered what made him so special as to be part of the Ten Wizard Saints. Granted, no one in the council was any normal.

“That would be boring. Besides you’re amusing when startled,” the deep rumbles of the easy going man was interrupted with another presence; this time loud and flashy.

“HuH? You weaklings are annoying,” God Serena slammed his feet up on the table and grinned, his teeth glinting maliciously and somehow, Jura was more than irritated with the man’s blatant disregard for his own colleagues. He understood the power high from being acknowledged as the strongest out of all the Wizard Saints but that didn’t give the man the right to be a piece of shit and treat them as lesser beings.

“Shut up samurai wannabe,” a female voice cut in sharply as he opened his mouth before clicking it shut.

Ultear Milkovich seemed to melt out of the shadows; her brown eyes narrowed and a sneer on her red painted lips. Impeccable, her flowing navy hair was tied up in a high pony tail and exposed her neck and her clothes reflecting elegance and nobility. She gave a disgusted glare towards Serena and growled, clearly done with the man’s annoying chit chat. Serena in return snarled and made to lunge for her, if it weren’t for Jura holding the man back.

“Settle down Serena,” Jura warned the enraged man. He wasn’t willing to risk caving the cathedral before the meeting even started. It was a hassle to minimalize the damage by then and besides, it was the middle of the night. It didn’t matter that the cathedral is deep in the forest. Serena’s destructive nature could easily destroy the peace and reach sound decibels that could break one’s ears.

“We’re here to have tea and talk, Serena-chan, don’t be so uptight about it,” Yajima said jovially and merely ducked when the man threw a punch his way; Serena’s face blushing from his roots to his neck. Jura was concerned that he would combust. Yajima was one that none of the members he hadn’t really need to worry about; he was like the god version of Doranbolt. All carefree and unperturbed but at terrifying proportions.

“Don’t add –chan to my name, old man!” Serena continued to try and hit Yajima in the face but it seemed futile, especially with how deftly the man just dodged him while sipping his cup of ocha and smiling serenely while doing so. Jura wondered what kind of magical ability did Yajima have to dodge the myriad of punches while drinking his ocha; the beverage seemed to be in no danger of getting spilled despite his fast paced movements in avoiding getting punched. Getting punched by Serena was not an option, even if he didn’t mean it; there was reason for him to get the first seat in the council.

“Let Yajima-san do as he please, Serena. You know it’s pointless to deter him from what he bothers to do,” a smooth supple voice interjected softly, a hint of command in his tone and Jura nodded his head at Jellal Siegrain. The man was sitting in his chair comfortably and seemingly for a long time with how his eyes just skimmed over the bickering that had just ensued with three of their members; Yajima could be excluded since he didn’t really do anything but get the brunt end of Serena’s embarrassment.

“Let’s begin,” a deeper voice suddenly interjected.

“Yes, Chairman,” they all stiffened at the man’s interjection. Serena stopped his assault on Yajima and leaned into his chair while Ultear merely scoffed. Jura leaned on his elbows as the man looked at them all, as if gauging their reactions. He wasn’t afraid of Chairman Hyberion but the man was stiff and cold as well as utterly awkward when it came to social interactions. While it was sensible to have the second strongest as well as the most level headed one in the whole council as the one in charge, he would’ve preferred it if there was someone else to guide their chairman when it comes to social niceties. Often times, Jura was the one in charge of the diplomacy because everyone was afraid of Chairman Hyberion. When in reality, he was just awkward as hell.

“Hyberion-sama, why have we been called here today?” Ultear was the type to cut to the chase and cared little for title and rank. It made her a formidable and thorough person to deal with.

Hyberion seemed to look slightly perplexed at how fast the situation was called to and didn’t really know how to break it to his members. He knew he was awkward and wasn’t able to compensate much with how curt and demanding his voice was; he did not sign up for this.

“There has been some… interesting developments,” he carefully worded out and that seemed to make all the members perk up in interest. Curiosity swimming in their eyes.

“Oh? And what would that be?” Ultear asked, leaning on her right hand and her eyes piercing.

“The Elder Tree has requested for new candidates to be brought in,” at that Serena stood up abruptly and slammed his palms on top of the sleek marble high table, eyes narrowed into catlike slits and his teeth bared like a wild animal. They all were tensed with the info they had just been provided.

“That shitty tree… requested?” Serena’s words seemed to hiss and boil in the air, all of them in disbelief at what they were told. It was something that they hadn’t fathom would occur in all the years they had been part of the council.

Many wouldn’t know it but out of all the members of the Ten Wizard Saints, only Ultear, Jellal, Makarov and Doranbolt were their out of bounds members. They joined of their own volition and were scouted. Jura, Serena, Hyberion as well as Yajima were exclusively bound and chosen by the Elder Tree. All four of them had been normal mages in their own guilds before they had been nominated Wizard Saints by the Elder Tree and accepted into the Council without trial. To be chosen by the Elder Tree was another whole matter entirely. None of them really knew what qualities the Elder Tree looked for in a Wizard Saint and no one really knew what the Elder Tree really was.

“It’s a great opportunity though… The Wizarding Scout League is starting soon anyway,” Jura sighed as he massaged his temples. The coincidence was uncanny. They all seemed to realize it as well when they blinked at him.

“Oh yeah, that shitty tournament is coming soon,” Serena grumbled and sat back down, no longer tense. Ultear seemed to scoff at the mention of the tournament.

“The Wiscoleague is pathetic, why do we even bother?” it wasn’t far from the truth but Jura wouldn’t say anything about it. Every five years, the tournament was held and nearly no one would succeed at the first try, It was that difficult.

“Its tradition, Ultear,” Hyberion rumbled.

Serena ruffled his hair in frustration while Yajima merely sipped his cup of ocha. Jellal remained silent and so did Doranbolt, all in varying degrees of thought and anxiousness. Hyberion looked like he could puke, his normal pale pallor had a tinge of green and Jura hoped that he wouldn’t puke in front of all of them. Ultear laid her head on the table; bored.

“We will have to inform Makarov soon… This isn’t something to be brushed off,” Yajima said calmly while still sipping his beverage.

Jura hoped - with the Wiscoleague coming up and the Elder Tree flaring to life and demanding candidates - that at least their future new member or members were less eccentric or abnormal than the company he was in now. He, for the life of him, cannot handle another Serena.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The characters are pretty OOC in my opinion haha. I'm currently working with more of my other fanfictions. I'm quite busy but I enjoy writing this story. Also, shoutout to BlackLion_Paladin! You made my day :) I was slightly discouraged with the responses I had gotten for this story but you helped me get over it. It's encouraging that someone had taken their time to write such a long comment and even stated what they liked and what they found interesting. I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as I did!

**Author's Note:**

> Next update: Sunday 2019.10.XX


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